02. 11. 11. - 15:33

Owls boss denies Austrian Playboy model takeover

A business tycoon has rubbished claims that an Austrian actress was interested in taking over his shares in a tradition-rich former Premiership club.

Sheffield Wednesday chairman Milan Mandaric announced yesterday (Tues) that reports of a potential takeover by Sybil Danning and her husband Horst Lasse were wrong.

"I can say I have never met or spoken to the people named in this article," the Serbian-American entrepreneur is quoted by the BBC as saying about a report by The Sun. The former Leicester City owner added: "I cannot control what is written or said in the media."

Danning told The Sun that she and her husband "have been looking into buying an English team with a strong fan base and great potential." The actress and businesswoman was born in the Upper Austrian town of Ried im Innkreis.

She is – in contrast to Oscar winners like Maximilian Schell and Christoph Waltz and late movie star Romy Schneider – not a household name in her home country.

Danning – who once stripped naked for Playboy magazine – described the League One side nicknamed The Owls as "one of the most famous names in English football."

The 64-year-old started acting as a teenager. She has starred in a string of low-budget horror films and cult movies over the years.